KABUL (Xinhua/AFP) – Afghanistan’s security forces arrested an arms smuggler and seized guns in the country’s eastern province of Nangarhar, the government confirmed on Sunday.
The suspect, who was arrested in Samarkhel area of Nangarhar on Saturday, tried to smuggle eight U.S.-made M-16 assault rifles outside of the country, the government said in a statement.
The arrest came as a large-scale combing operation has been ongoing by Afghan security agencies in the country’s national capital of Kabul and surrounding provinces since Friday.
Scores of arms and ammunition have been seized during the said operation as part of the latest preventive measures to ensure a high level of security, according to the government.
In another development, a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has reopened, officials said Sunday, days after fighting between security forces left at least three dead.
Since the Taliban returned to power last year border tensions between the neighbors have risen, with Pakistan alleging militant groups were planning attacks from Afghan soil.
The Taliban deny harboring Pakistani militants, but are also infuriated by a fence Islamabad is erecting along their 2,700-kilometer (1,600-mile) border, drawn up in colonial times and known as the Durand Line.
“The border has reopened for all sort of activities,” a spokesman for Pakistan’s paramilitary border force told AFP.
A security source said it came after “successful talks” between Pakistani officials and the governor of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
Mahmood Azaam, spokesman for the governor, confirmed it had reopened.
Each side blamed the other for Thursday’s clashes at the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing, which locals said involved light and heavy weapons.
Thousands usually cross every day, including traders, Afghans seeking medical treatment in Pakistan, and people visiting relatives.